The present invention pertains to side loading commodity collection vehicles and particularly to such vehicles which have collection mechanism which can reach away from the vehicle to latch to a commercial or residential refuse container spaced away from the vehicle.
Currently commodity collection vehicles equipped with side loading mechanisms are operated by an operator/ driver who operates the collection mechanism through controls located in the cab of the vehicle. The operator activates the collection mechanism by directing it to lower, to extend away from the vehicle, to latch to a refuse container and to raise the container along a vertical track on the storage body until the container is tipped so that its contents fall into a load opening at the top of the transport body. The operator then reverses the operation by lowering the container, and setting the empty container back onto the ground surface and disengaging it, and then the operator draws the collection mechanism back alongside the vehicle, and finally must operate a control which raises the collection mechanism to a raised position which allows the vehicle to advance without endangering the collection mechanism through collision of the collection mechanism with the roadway or obstacles upon the roadway. Unfortunately, it is all too common that the operator neglects to take the final step of raising the collection mechanism to the parked position and therefore when the vehicle encounters uneven roadway surfaces or roadway obstacles, the collection mechanism can be damaged by striking the roadway, leading to expensive repairs.